It was the mantra embraced by Gray Maynard following his disappointing UFC 136 championship loss to then-titleholder Frankie Edgar in October 2011.

After all, if you’re not actively pursuing evolution as a fighter, frankly, you are what you are. That’s you in the mirror. And we all know what happens to stationary targets in MMA (so to speak).

A refurbished Maynard (10-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) returns to action against veteran fan favorite Clay Guida (29-12 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the UFC on FX 4 headliner. The FX-televised event takes place June 22 at Revel Casino Atlantic City in New Jersey.

But months before he had a new opponent on the docket, Maynard decided it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. “Dodge,” in his case, was the glitzy city of Las Vegas, not the city in Kansas made famous by a host of early-20th-century westerns.

“The Bully” left his Sin City domicile and long-time affiliation with Xtreme Couture behind to settle into Santa Cruz, Calif., and the American Kickboxing Academy, respectively.

And somewhere between filling out paperwork and hauling boxes, he jettisoned to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro for a month-long sabbatical at Andre Pederneiras’ famed Nova Uniao gym.

The evolution was beginning to take shape.

“I haven’t seen it all (in training),” Maynard told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I don’t think anybody has. If you are a person who is closed off to that like, ‘I don’t need to see this. I don’t need to do this. I have a perfect way.’ Then that’s not good.

“It’s a real weird sport as in you’ve got all the aspects, and it’s like, you’re trying to fit all kinds of stuff into a small time period. Ten pounds of [expletive] in a four-pound bag.”

On the heels of his first career loss, getting the opportunity to travel to South America to train with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and his teammates could not have materialized at a better time for Maynard. He had mind and body to heal, and time to spare.

“Everybody is so happy over there (at Nova Uniao),” Maynard said. “All they want to do is train and enjoy life, which I’m all for that.

“It’s like an LVAC (Las Vegas Athletic Club) or a 24 Hour (Fitness). It’s got like a pool, a whole gym in there. It’s crazy. That’s where everybody goes to train. And then at the top floor it’s all MMA.”

Maynard, a former Division I All-American wrestler at Michigan State University, helped prepare Aldo for his UFC 142 title defense against the former Cal Poly All-American Chad Mendes. What stood out to Maynard most after numerous training sessions was how far the camp had already come as far as gaining ground on American wrestlers.

Furthermore, their incorporation of nontraditional takedown-defense methods and escapes left a lasting impression.

Maynard recalled one specific incident during a wrestling drill with Aldo that summed it up quite nicely.

“I tried taking down Jose,” Maynard said. “I pushed him to the wall. He actually like climbed up the wall and jumped off and over my head.

“It was nuts.”

A student-teacher dynamic never really manifested. It was essentially a series of quid pro quo transactions between de facto teammates from the day Maynard stepped off the plane.

“My brain was turning the whole time because I thought I was going to go down there to help him more, but it was like, ‘I’ve got to figure this out a little bit,'” Maynard joked.

Aldo went on to earn a first round TKO victory over Mendes at UFC 141 to retain his title.

Maynard, on the other hand, flew back to the U.S. with a personalized Flamengo soccer jersey given to him by Aldo, an open-ended invitation to return, and a much-needed clean slate jammed into the overhead bin.

Back to reality he went to continue his AKA assimilation and kick off his first training camp in new surroundings.

“It’s a great team,” Maynard said. “They’ve got Josh (Thomson) up there, Justin (Wilcox), all kinds of guys. I’m up there about three times a week. It’s a little bit of a hike to go there every day, but I’m up there sparring a lot and stuff like that, so it’s good.”

Maynard can also be spotted at other venues in the San Jose area. He’s doing strength and conditioning with Marv and Gary Marinovich, who are former coaches of B.J. Penn when he was UFC lightweight champion. He’s also traveling to Watsonville to work with boxing coach Rick Noble of Noble-Moreno Boxing.

It’s full speed ahead in his quest to get back to No. 1 contender status.

Guida starts the gauntlet all over again, and Maynard is excited to get back to business after his (not so) brief absence.

“Anyone at the top is always a great fight,” he said. “That’s what keeps me hyped.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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